As you build your business, experiencing growing pains is inevitable. You will eventually get to the point where you need to hire employees or subcontract out work. In-person tasks will probably require an employee or a local subcontractor who can do business on location. You may also need highly-skilled people who have specific skill sets and can do specialized tasks. 

The drawback of hiring employees is that it comes with complications such as employee benefits like sick time and vacation pay. You may also only need help for a few hours a week, however, an employee would likely want full time hours or at least guaranteed part time hours of usually about 20 hours a week. In these cases, it is better to sub-contract out these hours. If you have routine tasks that need to be outsourced, a virtual assistant can be a great choice.

VA’s work remotely, and can be educated and trained to perform specific tasks for you. They tend to have a wide range of skills and can perform various digital jobs. If you want to provide 24/7 customer service support or someone to complete work while you are asleep, you may consider hiring a VA from a different time-zone. VA’s are considered self-employed, and are not required to receive benefits. This makes them a cost-effective choice, and allows you more time to focus on more important and higher skilled tasks. The cost of a VA will depend on where they are based, their skills, experience level, and amount of work involved. There is a wide range of pay for VA’s and depending on the tasks, that range can be exponential. For more menial tasks, you can source labour at a lower amount.

5 Signs It's Time to Look into Hiring a Virtual Assistant:

1. You’re overworked and bogged down by routine tasks.

2. You want more time available to focus on bigger impact tasks.

3. You want to offer 24/7 customer service.

4. You only need help a couple hours a day or a few hours per week, and it doesn’t make sense to hire an employee. You also don’t need an expert.

5. You want to outsource part-time or full-time hours at a lower cost

Hiring a VA can allow you to create more time for yourself - whether you decide to spend that time pushing your business to new heights or lying on a beach is up to you.

If you're struggling with figuring out the best way to grow your business, work with a Business Coach to guide you through decision making techniques to ensure you make the most informed choice. If you think you are ready to enlist the help of a Business Coach, grow your dream business, increase profitability and step into your ideal life, then send me a message to inquire about private 1 on 1 business and life coaching.

Farewell, I look forward to hearing from you,

Ash Enns